Sales security integration

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various embodiments of sales security integration. At least one embodiment of a method includes the steps of receiving contact data regarding a sales contact for a network site, and performing at least one security check on the contact data to determine a likelihood that the sales contact is a security risk for nefarious activity. In response to determining that the sales contact is a security risk for nefarious activity, the step of implementing at least one security measure is performed.

BACKGROUND

In the online retail market, online retailers will often offer productsfrom one or more manufacturers. Additionally, some online retailers mayuse unused space on a network page for advertisement (or other) purposesof third parties who may or may not offer goods through the onlineretailer. As a nonlimiting example, if a business wishes to place anadvertisement on the network site of the online retailer (or otherwiseconduct business with the online retailer), the business may contact theonline retailer for this purpose. Similarly, the online retailer mayemploy sales people to facilitate sales of advertisement space on thenetwork site of the online retailer. Once an agreement for advertisingon the network site of the online retailer is reached (or otherwiseconducting business), the advertiser may send advertisement computercode to the online retailer that will be incorporated on the networksite according to the terms agreed upon by the third party and theonline retailer.

While the use of this space for third party advertisements may generateadditional revenue for the online retailer, the online retailer may beat risk for nefarious activity, such as malware or other harmful codethat is embedded in the advertisement code. Among other results, thiscode may be harmful to online shoppers and/or others that access theonline retailer network site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of an example computing environment for implementinga sales contact security check, according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an example network interface that may be providedby an online retailer, such as via the computing device from FIG. 1,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of an example client development user interface thatmay be provided to a sales person of the online retailer, such as viathe sales client from FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of an example client development user interface,further illustrating results of a security check, similar to theinterface from FIG. 3, according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a drawing of an example sales contact security administrationinterface for indicating one or more criteria for a security check,similar to the interface from FIG. 4, according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a drawing of an example email interface, illustrating resultsof a security check performed on the sender of an email to a salesperson of the online retailer, similar to the interface from FIG. 5,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a drawing of an example email interface, illustrating acontacts list, with one or more indicators for indicating results of asecurity check, similar to the interface from FIG. 6, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a drawing of an example process that may be utilized for alocal determination of a security risk, such as may be performed in thecomputing environment 100 from FIG. 1, according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a drawing of an example process that may be utilized forperforming one or more security checks on a sales contact applicant,such as may be performed in the computing environment from FIG. 1,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a drawing of an example process that may be utilized fortraining a sales contact security application, similar to the processfrom FIG. 11, according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a drawing of an example computing device, such as may beutilized in the computing environment from FIG. 1, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods for providingone or more security checks for potential sales contacts. The potentialsales contacts may include potential advertisers and/or others thatconduct business with the online retailer. More specifically, in atleast one nonlimiting example, when a sales contact sends information toan online retailer, a sales contact security application may perform acheck based on one or more criteria to determine if the sales contact islikely to be a security risk (e.g. that they intend to upload malwarehidden in an advertisement on the online retailer's network site). Theone or more checks may include a configurable scoring system where eachcriterion is individually weighted. The weighted score for a particularsales contact may be compared to a predetermined threshold score. If,based at least upon the sales contact score in comparison to thethreshold score, it is determined that the sales contact is a potentialsecurity risk, further security measures may be taken.

Similarly, some embodiments may be configured for training the salescontact security application to dynamically adapt security checks basedon previous security requests. Such a configuration may include a salescontact security training application on a computing device that isconfigured for analyzing previous security requests to determinepatterns of criteria not currently utilized in security checks currentlyperformed.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a drawing of an examplecomputing environment 100 for implementing a sales contact securitycheck. As illustrated, a network 102 may be included in the computingenvironment 100 and includes, for example, the Internet, intranets,extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wirednetworks, wireless networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or anycombination of two or more such networks.

Also included in the computing environment 100 are one or more computingdevices 104. The computing device 104 may comprise, for example, aserver computer or any other computing device or system providingcomputing capability. The computing device 104 may represent multiplecomputer systems arranged, for example, in one or more server banks orother arrangements. To this end, the computing device 104 may comprise,for example, a cloud computing resource, a grid computing resource,and/or any other distributed computing arrangement. Such computersystems may be located in a single installation or may be dispersedamong many different geographical locations. In at least one embodiment,the computing device 104 represents a virtualized computer systemexecuting on one or more physical computing systems. For purposes ofconvenience, the computing device(s) 104 is referred to herein in thesingular. However, in one embodiment, the computing device 104represents a plurality of computer systems arranged as described above.

Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in thecomputing device 104 according to various embodiments. Also, variousdata is stored in a data store 106 that is accessible to the computingdevice 104. The data store 106 may be representative of a plurality ofdata stores as can be appreciated. The data stored in the data store106, for example, is associated with the operation of the variousapplications and/or functional entities described below. As anonlimiting example, stored in the data store 106 are rules basedchecklists 108, sales contact based checklists 110, historical data 112,and other data.

The components executed on the computing device 104, for example,include an electronic commerce application 113, a sales contact inputapplication 114, a sales contact security application 115, a salescontact security training application 116, and other applications,services, processes, systems, engines, or functionality. In at least onenonlimiting example, the electronic commerce application 113 may beconfigured to receive sales contact application data from a sales client118, described in more detail below. The sales contact input application114 may be configured to receive the request from the electroniccommerce application 113 and analyze the received data related to thepotential sales contact (such as an advertiser) for processing the salescontact application. Similarly, the sales contact security application115 may include an application program interface (API) and may beexecuted to determine whether a sales contact is a potential securityrisk to an online retailer and/or visitors of the online retailer.Similarly, the sales contact security training application 116 may alsoinclude an API and may be configured to analyze data related to previoussales contact applicants to determine common information related tosecurity risks, as well as common information related to non-securityrisks. After making these determinations, the sales contact securitytraining application 116 may communicate with the sales contact securityapplication 115 to adapt the criteria utilized by the sales contactsecurity application to determine potential security risks.

Also included in the computing environment 100 are the sales client(s)118, sales client system(s) 120, and user system(s) 122 (also referredto herein in the singular). The sales contact system 120 may include oneor more client devices that are operated by potential sales contacts.Similarly, the sales client 118 may include one or more client devicesthat are operated by sales people of the online retailer. The salesclient 118 may be representative of a plurality of client devices thatmay be coupled to the network 102. The sales client 118 may comprise,for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such acomputer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellular telephone,set-top box, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, or otherdevices with like capability. Similarly, the user system 122 may includea browser (not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 1) and be operated by anonline shopper to purchase goods and/or services, as described in moredetail below.

The sales client 118 may be configured to execute various applicationssuch as a browser 124, and/or other applications. Depending on theparticular embodiment, browser 124 may include and/or be configured toutilize an email application and/or other application for facilitatingcommunications. As described in more detail below, the browser 124 maybe configured to receive information regarding a potential sales contactand send the data to the computing device 104 to determine whether thepotential sales contact likely has malicious intent for nefariousactivity. The browser 124 may also be configured to access and rendernetwork pages (such as network page 126), such as web pages, or othernetwork content served up by the computing device 104 and/or otherservers.

Additionally included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 1 is anadministrator client 128, which may be configured to store and/orexecute a browser 130. The browser 130 may also include an API and maybe configured to receive and/or render network pages (e.g., network page132), send administrative data to the computing device 104, and/orprovide other functionality, as described in more detail below.

Also included in the nonlimiting example of FIG. 1 is the electroniccommerce application 113. The electronic commerce application 113 isexecuted in order to facilitate the online purchase of items 204 overthe network 102. The electronic commerce application 113 also performsvarious backend functions associated with the online presence of amerchant in order to facilitate the online purchase of items 204 as willbe described. For example, the electronic commerce application 113generates network pages, such as web pages or other types of networkcontent that are provided to clients 120 and/or 128 for the purposes ofselecting items for purchase, rental, download, lease, or other form ofconsumption and to perform other functions, as will be described.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an example network page 200 that may be providedby an online retailer to a user, such as via the computing device 104from FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. As illustrated in thenonlimiting example of FIG. 2, the network interface 126 a may beprovided by the electronic commerce application 113 to an online shopper(e.g., via the user system 122) and/or others who navigate to the onlineretailer network site. The network interface 126 a may be rendered bythe browser present one or more items 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c. The items202 a, 202 b, and 202 c may be for sale to online shoppers. Additionallyincluded are one or more advertisements 204 a, 204 b, and 204 c(collectively referred to as advertisements 204). The advertisements 204may be configured to promote goods, services, and/or messages to onlineshoppers without providing a purchase option in the network interface126 a. The advertisements 204 may be placed on the network interface 126a by the online retailer, in exchange for payment from an advertiser.Depending on the placement of the advertisement, the display time forthe advertisement, and/or other factors, the advertisement fee can vary.As a nonlimiting example, the advertisement 204 a is located at the topof the network interface 126 a and may be fixed such that it will alwaysbe displayed. Due to this high visibility, an advertisement 204 a atthis position may demand a higher fee than the space of advertisement204 b, which is lower on the network interface 126 a. Similarlyadvertisement 204 a may have higher visibility than the space ofadvertisement 204 c, which is located at the bottom of the networkinterface 126 a and may not be fixed. This may mean that when an onlineshopper scrolls up on the network interface 126 a, the advertisement isno longer displayed.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of an example client development interface 126 bthat may be provided to a sales person of the online retailer, such asvia the sales client 118 from FIG. 1. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 3, the client development interface 126 b may beconfigured to receive data entered by a sales person in relation to asales contact, such as a potential advertiser of the online retailer.The client development interface 126 b is generated, for example, by thesales contact input application 114 (FIG. 1), which may be sent to thesales client 118 for display via the browser 124. The client developmentinterface 126 b may be configured to receive data such as company name,company address, company contact, and contact email address.Additionally, the client development interface 126 b may request and/orreceive information such as advertisement location (where theadvertisement is requested to be positioned in the online retailernetwork site), how soon the advertisement is to be displayed, and howlong the advertisement is to be presented on the online retailer networksite. Other information may include a sales person name, whether theadvertiser has previously advertised with the online retailer, the timeand date of the request (e.g., when did the advertiser request theadvertisement space), and the quoted price for the advertisement. Oneshould note that, depending on the particular configuration, otherinformation and/or permutations of information may also be utilized inthe client development interface 126 b. Upon input of the requestedinformation in the client development interface 126 b, the sales person(or other user) may select a submit option 302 to submit the informationto the computing device 104. Also included is a browse option 304 forallowing the sales person to attach the advertisement to be displayed onthe network site. Similarly, where the sales contact is not a potentialadvertiser, data may be input related to the business to be conductedwith the online retailer.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of an example of the client development interface126 b, further illustrating results of a security check. As illustratedin the nonlimiting example of FIG. 4, in response to selection of thesubmit option 302 on the client development interface 126 b, data issent from the browser 124 to the sales contact security application 115.The sales contact security application 115 may receive the data, analyzethe data, and determine whether the sales contact is a potentialsecurity risk.

More specifically, to determine whether the sales contact is a securityrisk, the sales contact security application 115 may also determinewhether the email address submitted is a valid email address, or whetherthis sales contact has advertised or otherwise conducted business withthe online retailer in the past. The sales contact security application115 may also determine whether this sales contact has a valid telephonenumber. The sales contact security application 115 may further determinewhether the sales contact email address is conspicuously close to othervalid email addresses (such as an advertiser having an email“john@probascetball.com” instead of john@probasketball.com”). Similarly,the sales contact security application 115 may determine whether thissales contact has contact information or an Internet protocol (IP)address that links the sales contact to undesirable geographic regionsthat are notorious for malware and other malicious activities. In someembodiments, the sales contact security application 115 may determinewhether an Internet search of online communities includes anydisparaging comments regarding this sales contact. Similarly, adetermination can be made whether the fee for the business (such asplacing advertisement on the network site of the online retailer) issufficiently low to indicate an increased risk of malware. The salescontact security application 115 may determine whether the timeframe ofthe business arrangement (e.g., placing the advertisement on the networksite of the online retailer) indicates a greater likelihood of thissales contact being a security risk (e.g., if this sales contact wantsthe advertisement posted in two days, when the average time to post anadvertisement is two weeks, the sales contact might be a security risk).Based on these criteria and/or other criteria, which are weighted, asdiscussed in more detail below, the sales contact security application115 can determine whether the sales contact is a security risk. Inresponse to this determination, the sales contact security application115 sends data regarding this analysis, which is displayed in section402 in the client development interface 126 b.

In the nonlimiting example of client development interface 126 b, thesection 402 indicates that the sales contact “Pro Basketball” with thecontact person “John Doh” is a security risk. As indicated, the contactemail address is suspect, as well as the fact that this is a newadvertiser, the advertisement begin date is very short, theadvertisement duration is short, and the quoted price is small. One ormore of these issues may contribute to a determination that thispotential advertiser is a security risk. Accordingly, in order for thissales contact to be approved for advertising with the online retailer,further security measures may be performed. As a nonlimiting example,the additional security measures may include analysis of theadvertisement code, interacting with the contact person (e.g., John Doh)to determine additional company information, and/or performing othersecurity measures.

FIG. 5 is a drawing of an example sales contact security administrationinterface 132 a for indicating one or more criteria for a securitycheck, similar to the interface from FIG. 4. As indicated above withregard to FIG. 4, one or more security checks may be performed by thecomputing device 104 to determine whether a sales contact is a securityrisk. To this end, an administrator for the online retailer may beprovided (e.g., via the sales contact security application 115 andrendered by the browser 130) with the sales contact securityadministration interface 132 a to determine the security checks andweighting for sales contacts. More specifically, a new filter forperforming security checks may be created by selection of a create newfilter option 502. An existing filter may be edited by selection of anedit existing filter option 504.

Regardless, a particular filter may be customized according to aplurality of options, including whether to apply the filter to all salescontacts, to a particular company, to a particular type of potentialsales contact, and/or to other criteria. As a nonlimiting example, if acompany indicates to the online retailer that all advertisement requestswill include a secret password, such a requirement may be created onlyfor that company.

As discussed above, options that the administrator may select includechecking for a valid email address, checking for whether this salescontact has advertised (or otherwise conducted business) with the onlineretailer previously, checking whether the telephone number is valid,and/or other options. Some embodiments may include checking whetherthere are conspicuously close valid email addresses, checking whetherthere are any network complaints, checking the time of the request,checking the dollar amount of the business, and/or checking the time ofthe request and potentially other options.

In addition to the plurality of security check options that may beselected, a weight option 506 may also be included. More specifically,in at least one nonlimiting example, the sales contact securityadministration interface 132 a may be configured to receive weightingsfor one or more of the selected security checks. As a nonlimitingexample, if a valid email address is essential to this particular onlineretailer for sales contacts, the administrator may select a weight of100 or other appropriate value. However, if the time of request for anadvertisement is important, but less so than other criteria, theadministrator may select a weight of 20 or other appropriate value.

Also included in the sales contact security administration interface 132a is an enable automatic training option 508. As discussed in moredetail below, automatic training can provide dynamic security checksthat adapt based on common criteria of previously determined securityrisks. After selecting the desired options in the sales contact securityadministration interface 132 a, the administrator may select a saveoption 510 to save the selected criteria.

FIG. 6 is a drawing of an example email interface 126 d, illustratingresults of a security check performed on the sender of an email to asales person of the online retailer, similar to the interface from FIG.5, according to various embodiments. As illustrated in the nonlimitingexample of FIG. 6, the email interface 126 d may be provided by thebrowser 124 and may be configured to provide received emails from asales contact to a sales person of the online retailer. The emailmessage may include one or more sender email addresses (displayed and/orin metadata that accompanies the email). Similarly, the email messagemay include one or more recipient email addresses, one or more courtesycopy email addresses, one or more blind courtesy copy addresses, and asubject line. Additionally, included in the email is a message body,which may include a request for advertising (or otherwise conductingbusiness) with the online retailer, a timeframe, a location for theadvertisement, contact information, and/or other data.

Upon receipt of the email message by the sales client 118, browser 124(with the assistance of the sales contact input application 114, thesales contact security application 115 and/or other applications) cananalyze the metadata and/or payload data of the email message todetermine characteristics of the email sender. More specifically, adetermination may be made regarding whether the sender is a salescontact. Similarly, the contact information of the sender and/or otherinformation may also be determined. The data from the email message maybe sent to the sales contact security application 115 to determinewhether this sales contact is a security risk. The sales contactsecurity application 115 may make this determination and send dataregarding the results of the security check back to the sales client118. Accordingly, when the message is received at the sales client 118,the email interface 126 d may provide an indicator 602 regarding whetherthe sender is a security risk, not a security risk, or whether there isnot enough information to determine whether the sender is a securityrisk. Such a configuration could preclude the necessity of manuallyentering this information, such as in the client development interface126 b from FIG. 3 and/or could facilitate an automatic population of thedata determined from the email interface 126 d into the clientdevelopment interface 126 b from FIG. 3.

One should note that while the description regarding FIG. 6 refers to areceived message, similar functionality may be provided for outgoingemail messages. Further, while the description of FIG. 6 also refers toemail messages, other forms of electronic communications, such asinstant messages, text messages, multimedia messages, etc. may also beincluded with this functionality.

FIG. 7 is a drawing of an example email interface 126 e, illustrating acontacts list, with one or more indicators for indicating results of asecurity check, similar to the interface from FIG. 6. As illustrated inthe interface 126 e, one or more contacts of a sales person may belisted. The contacts may be acquired in any of a plurality of differentways including manually entering the data, synchronizing with anotherdevice, etc. Regardless of the manner in which the contacts areacquired, the email interface 126 e may include an applicationprogramming interface (API) that can communicate with the sales contactsecurity application 115 to determine whether one or more of thecontacts are security risks. As a nonlimiting example, the sales contactsecurity application 115 can access historical data 112 to determinewhether there have been previous determinations regarding one or more ofthe contacts. Additionally, the sales contact security application 115may analyze the data as discussed above, to determine the level ofsecurity risk.

Once a determination is made regarding whether a contact is a securityrisk, indicators 702 a, 702 b, and 702 c can be associated with therespective contacts. As illustrated, if it is determined that thecontact is not a security risk, the indicator 702 a may be provided. Ifit is determined that a contact is a security risk, the indicator 702 bmay be provided. If it is determined that the risk for a contact cannotbe determined, the indicator 702 c may be provided.

Referring next to FIG. 8, shown is a flowchart 800 that provides oneexample of the operation of a portion of the sales contact securityapplication 115 according to various embodiments. It is understood thatthe flowchart of FIG. 8 provides merely an example of the many differenttypes of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement theoperation of the portion of the sales contact security application 115,as described herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 8 may beviewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in thecomputing device 104 (FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.

As illustrated in block 852, the sales contact input application 114, asexecuted by the computing device 104, can receive the data from thesales client related to a security check. The received data may be inresponse to an incoming message, an outgoing message and/or a contactfrom the sales client 118. Additionally, in block 854, a determinationcan be made whether information on the sales contact is currentlystored. This determination can include determining whether theinformation is stored locally on the computing device 104 and/ordetermining whether the information is stored remotely. In block 856, ifthe information regarding the sales contact is currently stored, datamay be provided for a user interface (e.g., client development interface126 b in FIG. 4) to be displayed on the sales client 118. As discussedabove, this interface may be configured to indicate the previouslydetermined security risk.

If however, in block 858, the information is not currently stored, asecurity check may be performed on the sales contact. As discussed indetail above, this security check can include any of a plurality ofdifferent criteria. In block 860, the results from the security checkcan be stored, which may include local and/or remote storage. In block862, data for a user interface (e.g., client development interface 126 bin FIG. 4) may be provided that indicates the determined security risk.This user interface may be displayed at the sales client 118.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart 900 that provides one example of theoperation of a portion of the sales contact security application 115,according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart ofFIG. 9 provides merely an example of the many different types offunctional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operationof the portion of the sales contact security application 115, asdescribed herein. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 9 may beviewed as depicting an example of steps of a method implemented in thecomputing device 104 (FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.

As illustrated in block 952, the sales contact security application 115,as executed by the computing device 104 can receive data related to asecurity check from the sales client 118. As discussed above, this datamay be received in response to an incoming message, an outgoing messageand/or a contact analysis. Additionally in block 954, a determinationcan be made whether any previous security checks have been performed onthe email sender. If so, the data from those previous security checksmay be utilized and the process may end. If not, in block 958, adetermination can be made whether any sales contact based checks applyto this sales contact. In block 960, if there are sales contact specificchecks, the sales contact based security checks may be performed, suchas via the sales contact based checklists 110. If however, there are nosales contact based security checks, in block 962, the rules basedchecklists 108 can be accessed and the general security checks can beapplied. Regardless, in block 964, data related to the results of theone or more security checks can be sent to the browser 124 of the salesclient 118. In block 966, the email and/or contact can be markedaccording to the received data.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart 1000 that provides one example of theoperation of a portion of the sales contact security trainingapplication 116, according to various embodiments. It is understood thatthe flowchart of FIG. 10 provides merely an example of the manydifferent types of functional arrangements that may be employed toimplement the operation of the portion of the sales contact securitytraining application 116, as described herein. As an alternative, theflowchart of FIG. 10 may be viewed as depicting an example of steps of amethod implemented in the computing device 104 (FIG. 1) according to oneor more embodiments.

As illustrated in block 1052, the sales contact security trainingapplication 116 via the computing device 104 can receive historical dataregarding previous security checks of sales contacts. In block 1054, atleast one check may be performed to determine whether there are anycommon features of the sales contacts that were not considered in thesecurity checks. In block 1056, in response to a determination thatthere is at least one common feature for previously identified securitythreats, the sales contact security training application 116 canindicate the common feature to the administrator client 128 and/orautomatically adjust the sales contact security application to check forthis common feature. In block 1058, in response to a determination thatthere is at least one common feature for previously identifiednon-security threats that are not also present in the previouslyidentified security threats, the sales contact security trainingapplication 116 can indicate the common feature to the administratorclient 128 and/or automatically adjust the sales contact securitytraining application 116 to allow new sales contacts that include thiscommon feature.

With reference to FIG. 11, shown is a schematic block diagram of thecomputing device 104 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The computing device 104 includes at least one processorcircuit, for example, having a processor 1102 and a memory 1104, both ofwhich are coupled to a local interface 1106. To this end, the computingdevice 104 may comprise, for example, at least one server computer orlike device. The local interface 1106 may comprise, for example, a databus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure ascan be appreciated.

Stored in the memory 1104 are both data and several components that areexecutable by the processor 1102. In particular, stored in the memory1104 and executable by the processor 1102 are sales contact securityapplication 115, sales contact security training application, historicaldata 112, and potentially other applications. Also stored in the memory1104 may be a data store 106 and other data. In addition, an operatingsystem may be stored in the memory 1104 and executable by the processor1102.

It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored inthe memory 1104 and are executable by the processor 1102 as can beappreciated. Where any component discussed herein is implemented in theform of software, any one of a number of programming languages may beemployed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic, Python, Ruby, Delphi, Flash, or otherprogramming languages.

A number of software components are stored in the memory 1104 and areexecutable by the processor 1102. In this respect, the term “executable”means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by theprocessor 1102. Examples of executable programs may be, for example, acompiled program that can be translated into machine code in a formatthat can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory 1104 andrun by the processor 1102, source code that may be expressed in properformat such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a randomaccess portion of the memory 1104 and executed by the processor 1102, orsource code that may be interpreted by another executable program togenerate instructions in a random access portion of the memory 1104 tobe executed by the processor 1102, etc. An executable program may bestored in any portion or component of the memory 1104 including, forexample, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive,solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such ascompact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetictape, or other memory components.

The memory 1104 is defined herein as including both volatile andnonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components arethose that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatilecomponents are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, thememory 1104 may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flashdrives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disksaccessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed viaan optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tapedrive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two ormore of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, forexample, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other suchdevices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or otherlike memory device.

Also, the processor 1102 may represent multiple processors 1102 and thememory 1104 may represent multiple memories 1104 that operate inparallel processing circuits, respectively. In such a case, the localinterface 1106 may be an appropriate network that facilitatescommunication between any two processors, between any processor 1102 andany of the memories 1104, or between any two of the memories 1104, etc.The local interface 1106 may comprise additional systems designed tocoordinate this communication, including, for example, performing loadbalancing. The processor 1102 may be of electrical or of some otheravailable construction.

Although the sales contact security application 115, the sales contactsecurity training application 116, the historical data 112, and othervarious systems described herein may be embodied in software or codeexecuted by general purpose hardware as discussed above, as analternative the same may also be embodied in dedicated hardware or acombination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware.If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuitor state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number oftechnologies. These technologies may include, but are not limited to,discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing variouslogic functions upon an application of one or more data signals,application specific integrated circuits having appropriate logic gates,or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known bythose skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detailherein.

One should also note that while FIG. 11 describes the computing device104, similar descriptions may also be applied to sales contact system120, sales client 118, and/or administrator client 128, as well as thecorresponding logic associated with these systems. More specifically oneor more of these systems may also include a processor, memory, localinterface, and/or other components described with reference to FIG. 11.

The flowcharts of FIGS. 8-10 illustrate functionality and operation ofan implementation of portions of the sales contact security application115 and/or the sales contact security training application 116. Ifembodied in software, each block may represent a module, segment, orportion of code that comprises program instructions to implement thespecified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodiedin the form of source code that comprises human-readable statementswritten in a programming language or machine code that comprisesnumerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system suchas a processor 1102 in a computer system or other system. The machinecode may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied inhardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number ofinterconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowcharts of FIGS. 8-10 illustrate a specific order ofexecution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ fromthat which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two ormore blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two ormore blocks shown in succession in FIGS. 8-10 may be executedconcurrently or with partial concurrence. In addition, any number ofcounters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might beadded to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhancedutility, accounting, performance measurement, or providingtroubleshooting aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations arewithin the scope of the present disclosure.

Also, any logic or application described herein, including electroniccommerce application 113, sales contact input application 114, salescontact security application 115, sales contact security trainingapplication 116, sales contact input application 114, and browser 124,that comprises software or code can be embodied in any computer-readablemedium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution systemsuch as, for example, a processor 1102 in a computer system or othersystem. In this sense, the logic may comprise, for example, statementsincluding instructions and declarations that can be fetched from thecomputer-readable medium and executed by the instruction executionsystem. In the context of the present disclosure, a “computer-readablemedium” can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logicor application described herein for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system. The computer-readable medium can compriseany one of many physical media such as, for example, electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor media.More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium wouldinclude, but are not limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppydiskettes, magnetic hard drives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USBflash drives, or optical discs. Also, the computer-readable medium maybe a random access memory (RAM) including, for example, static randomaccess memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), ormagnetic random access memory (MRAM). In addition, the computer-readablemedium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory(PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or othertype of memory device.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a plurality of computer instructions executable by a computing resource, wherein, when executed, the plurality of computer instructions cause the computing resource to: receive data regarding a potential advertiser for an online retailer, the data regarding the potential advertiser being received from a sales client that provides an interface utilized for submitting the data regarding the potential advertiser; determine, from the data regarding the potential advertiser, that at least one previous security check has been performed on the potential advertiser; determine that there is a plurality of security checks for the potential advertiser; implement the plurality of security checks to determine whether the potential advertiser is a security threat for uploading a malware to a network site of the online retailer, implementing the plurality of security checks comprising: determining a first weighted value based at least in part on a determination that a submitted email address associated with the potential advertiser is similar to a valid email address according to a threshold; and determining a second weighted value based at least in part on a comparison of a value of a proposed begin date of a potential advertisement associated with the potential advertiser to an average value of a plurality of other begin dates associated with other potential advertisements; determine that a weighted score for the potential advertiser exceeds a threshold score based at least in part on the first weighted value and the second weighted value; and render for display, in response to determining that the weighted score exceeds the threshold score, an indicator substantially near the submitted email address on a user interface, the indicator representing the likelihood that the potential advertiser is a potential security risk.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the data regarding the potential advertiser for the online retailer is received from a sales application of the sales client or an email application of the sales client.
 3. A method, comprising: receiving, by at least one processor in a computing device, contact data regarding a sales contact for a network site; performing, by the at least one processor in the computing device, a plurality of security checks on the contact data to determine a likelihood that the sales contact is a security risk for incorporating a malware to the network site of an online retailer, performing the plurality of security checks comprising: determining a first weighted value based at least in part on a determination that a submitted email address associated with the sales contact is similar to a valid email address according to a threshold; and determining a second weighted value based at least in part on a comparison of a value of a proposed begin date of a potential advertisement associated with the sales contact to an average value of a plurality of other begin dates associated with other potential advertisements; determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, that a weighted score for the sales contact exceeds a threshold score based at least in part on the first weighted value and the second weighted value; and implementing, by the at least one processor in the computing device, in response to determining that the weighted score exceeds the threshold score, at least one security measure that includes rendering for display an indicator substantially near the submitted email address on a user interface, the indicator representing the likelihood that the sales contact a potential security risk.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sales contact is a potential advertiser, and implementing at least one security measure includes at least one of the following: analyzing, by the at least one processor in the computing device, code associated with the potential advertisement of the potential advertiser; and preventing, by the at least one processor in the computing device, the potential advertiser from advertising on the network site.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein performing the plurality of security checks on the contact data includes at least one of the following: determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, whether a duration for displaying the potential advertisement on the network site satisfies a threshold, or determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, whether a price for the potential advertisement satisfies the threshold.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of security checks includes a plurality of criteria, wherein the at least one of the plurality of criteria is configurable by a user.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein determining that the weighted score for the sales contact exceeds the threshold score further comprises comparing, by the at least one processor in the computing device, a summation of the first weighted value and the second weighted value to the threshold score.
 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, that a prior security check has previously been performed for the sales contact.
 9. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, that there is at least one sales contact-specific security check to perform for the sales contact.
 10. The method of claim 3, further comprising automatically determining, by the at least one processor in the computing device, at least one criterion for the plurality of security checks based at least in part on a plurality of other security checks for a plurality of other sales contacts.
 11. The method of claim 3, wherein performing the plurality of security checks comprises determining that a network address associated with the sales contact corresponds to a predefined geographic region.
 12. The method of claim 3, wherein performing the plurality of security checks comprises performing a search of online communities for at least one disparaging comment associated with the sales contact.
 13. A system comprising: at least one computing device; and an application executable in the at least one computing device, the application causing the at least one computing device to: receive a request for a security check on a potential advertiser for a network site; determine that the potential advertiser is associated with an advertiser-specific security check; perform the advertiser-specific security check to determine whether the potential advertiser is a security risk for incorporating a malware on the network site, wherein performing the advertiser-specific security check comprises: determining a first weighted value based at least in part on a determination that a submitted email address associated with the potential advertiser is similar to a valid email address according to a threshold; and determining a second weighted value based at least in part on a comparison of a value of a proposed begin date of a potential advertisement associated with the potential advertiser to an average value of a plurality of other begin dates associated with other potential advertisements; determine that a weighted score for the potential advertiser exceeds a threshold score based at least in part on the first weighted value and the second weighted value; and implement at least one security measure that includes rendering for display an indicator substantially near the submitted email address on a user interface, the indicator representing the likelihood that the potential advertiser is a potential security risk.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the performing the advertiser-specific security check includes at least one of the following: determining that a duration for displaying the potential advertisement on the network site satisfies a threshold, or determining that a price for the potential advertisement satisfies the threshold.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the application further causes the at least one computing device to perform a general rules-based security check on the potential advertiser.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the potential advertiser is received from at least one of the following: a client development application from a sales client or an email application from the sales client.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the application further causes the at least one computing device to automatically determine at least one criterion for the advertiser-specific security check based on a plurality of other security checks for a plurality of other potential advertisers.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein implementing at least one security measure includes at least one of the following: analyzing code associated with the potential advertisement associated with the potential advertiser and preventing the potential advertiser from advertising on the network site.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the application further causes the at least one computing device to determine that a prior security check has previously been performed for the potential advertiser.
 20. The system of claim 13, wherein the determination that the submitted email address associated with the potential advertiser is similar to the valid email address according to the threshold further comprises determining that a first email domain of the submitted email address is one character different from a second email domain of the valid email address. 